A Southwest Airlines flight was forced to abort a landing at Chicago Midway airport on Tuesday (Feb 25) and narrowly avoided a collision with a business jet that entered the runway without authorization, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
Around 8.50am CT, Southwest Flight 2504, a Boeing 737-800 arriving from Omaha, Nebraska, abruptly pulled up and flew over a FlexJet Challenger on the runway. The Southwest plane performed a go-around, a maneuver in which it circled and reapproached the landing.
A dramatic video posted on social media showed the Southwest jet nearing touchdown then ascending sharply. The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.
Southwest said the crew “followed safety procedures and the flight landed without incident.” According to Southwest’s website, its Boeing 737-800 aircraft can carry 175 passengers.
The business jet, which Flexjet says can carry up to nine passengers, had been taxiing on runway 31C before departing for Knoxville, Tennessee.
The Southwest jet had descended to an altitude of 15m when it abandoned its landing only about 625m away from the business jet, according to tracking service Flightradar 24.
As it abruptly rose, the Southwest plane had only reached an altitude of 76m when it passed over the smaller aircraft, the service said.
